Black and Blue
by m.march
Summary: Nightwing and Blue Beetle are captured. Talking is soon followed by action. Nightwing/Blue Beetle (BlueBird). Romance and action. First chapter isn't so M but I'm sure we'll get there.
1. Chapter 1

Hey! So, I own nothing DC.

I actually tried to find Nightwing/Blue Beetle fics (I'm affectionately calling them BlueBird) but couldn't find any. So, I wrote one! I hope someone else likes this idea too, because I plan to do a couple more.

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-Black and Blue-

"Blue." Nightwing's voice was steady in the dark, the way it always was.

Jaime sighed audibly. "Yeah." His head was as quiet at the dark of this cell. The collar felt heavy around his neck, bruising his skin. When he woke up with it on, he had expected to hear the beetle in his head telling him that it would shut it off or interrupt the transmission or whatever it was it did, but the voice never came and he seemed to be completely unable to access his powers. Nightwing had hypothesized then that it was a new design- an improvement on the last one.

The mission they had been on had just been a scouting. Nothing complicated. There had been a string of odd crimes in the area and just about the entire Young Justice team had been out, skulking on rooftops and keeping and eye out. The league of assassins had come out of nowhere in numbers Jaime had never seen before.

"You're going to be alright." Dick assured. He had said it when they woke up too and Jaime had nodded, unable to do anything else. The room was so dark they couldn't even see their own hands let alone each other.

Nightwing had felt out the walls and the door and the floor, he had searched every inch of it before settling into a corner and waiting. The only lights at all were the faint green of their collars.

"It's just... last time I was abducted.." Jaime started before his jaw flexed and he decided not to talk about the Reach.

"This isn't the same." Nightwing promised but something about his tone made Jaime wonder if the other man thought it was better or worse.

"Why would they collar you?" Jaime muttered. He thought he felt the other smile. "You're not super, I mean."

"Precaution? Maybe it has a kill switch?"

Jaime frowned at how casually the bat prodigy considered his possibilities. "I'm missing my graduation."

Nightwing laughed, the sound echoing in their prison. "You should thank them for that. It's like a hundred degrees out. It would have been awful to sit there all day waiting for your name to be called."

Jaime nodded. "I guess that's true. I did hate the hat."

"Always a bright side."

The lights came on and both of them flinched, eyes taking time to adjust. There was a new hum of electricity, the bulb high above and a camera in the corner turning on as well. "Speaking of bright." Jaime muttered, raising his bound hands to rub at his eyes.

"Looks like we have an audience." Nightwing noted, nudging his chin toward the camera in the corner. "It might have audio."

Jaime groaned and moved closer to his friend, leaning his head to the side. "See if you can get this shit off me and I'll blow our way out of here." He said and the other man leaned closer but before he could touch the collar a wave of electricity shocked both of them through their collars, bringing them to their sides on the floor.

When it stopped, Nightwing huffed out a breath. "Well, I think the camera has audio and now we know why I'm wearing a collar too."

"Always a bright side." Jaime muttered this time. With his cheek to the floor he heard the heavy foot steps coming. His brown eyes looked at Nightwing. "What do they want?"

"Guess we'll find out." Dick sat upright and on his knees, rolling up to his feet before the sound of the locks on the other side of the door started to unlatch. If Jaime wasn't another hero he might have told him not to tell them anything, not to give away any secrets, but it wasn't something that needed saying.

The door opened just as Jaime got to his feet, leaning his shoulders back against the wall. The light in the hallway was even brighter and three men in masks stood outside. Before anyone moved, electricity surged through their collars again to bring them to the floor. Two men grabbed Nightwing by the arms and lifted him, dragging him out of the cell. Jaime looked up in time to have the door slam back into place.

In the silence that followed he felt panic rising in his chest. He stood and stared at the door, waiting as though they would open it again any minute and take him too. They didn't. They didn't and it only made his panic worse. What were they doing? Where did they take Nightwing? Would they bring him back?

He slammed a kick to the door but it only echoed the sounds of his captivity back at him, reminding him that he couldn't get out of this place without the power given to him by the scarab. No one could get out of this place. No. That wasn't true. Nightwing didn't have powers and he got out of jams like this all the time. What had he been doing before? Searching the walls and the door. Jaime looked at everything around him, ever corner, ever crack in the concrete walls, the seams of the door, the dome camera in the high corner. He looked at everything but he didn't know what to do.

"Where did you take him?" He finally shouted, staring at the black lense of the camera. It stared back but said nothing. "What do you want?" He yelled but only silence answered. With a hiss he darted the short distance to one wall, jumping up to push off of it and up higher against the next wall, reaching for the camera. Before his fingertips could touch it, the collar shocked him again. His back hit the floor hard, knocking the air from his chest.

Time seemed to slow down. He had no way of knowing how long he was there, waiting, until he finally heard footsteps in the hallway again. It sounded like they were dragging something. Jaime stood when they started to unlock the door but the collar brought him to his knees again. The door opened and the same masked guards returned, this time dragging Nightwing's weight between them. They tossed him in and his body rolled, limbs limp.

Jaime's eyes widened. "What the hell did you do?" He shouted but no one answered. The door closed and locked in the same pattern of bolts and latches.

He rolled Nightwing onto his back. His hands weren't cuffed anymore but his left arm was definitely broken, along with several fingers on that hand. "Nightwing." Jaime whispered, pushing dark hair away from a pale face that was now welted with split flesh and bruises. His mask was gone and the cheekbone beneath one eye deeply bruised. "Shit. Wake up." He hissed. "Wake up."

Those eyes opened and they were blue. Jaime had never known. Honestly, he'd never even wondered. Now he was certain he would never forget.

Nightwing smiled, lip busted and the cut stretching when he refused to wince and drop the grin. "You're going to be fine." He said again before those eyes closed and he let out a tired huff.

"Your arm is broken." Jaime said, not sure what else to say or do.

Dick nodded once but didn't open his eyes again. "Yep."

"What do they want?"

Nightwing cracked his eyes open and looked up at him. "Don't worry. It's not about our team."

Jaime frowned. He hated when Nightwing was secretive. "Well it's obviously got something to do with us. Look at you."

"Me. Not you. Don't freak out." Dick muttered, tired.

Blue Beetle frowned for a long while before his features relaxed into some grim understanding. "It's about Bats?"

Nightwing shrugged his right shoulder, the one not connected to a broken arm and messed up hand.

Jamie sighed and leaned back against the wall. "I don't suppose you told them where the Bat hands his cowl and we'll be going home now?" He joked dryly. He wouldn't have told if he had known and no one that knew Nightwing would ever imagine getting any information about the Bat out of him.

Nightwing smiled and that was his answer.

Blue Beetle nodded and leaned his head back against the wall, looking up at the ceiling. "How many times have you been kidnapped?"

Nightwing laughed and there was a sharp cough that followed, pained. Jaime winced. It was the sound of broken ribs. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"How do you usually get away?" Jaime had lowered his voice, as though the people watching them wouldn't hear.

Nightwing opened his eyes again and rolled his head to the side to look up at the other hero. "Sometimes I find a chance to get away and I take it. Sometimes I make a chance."

"You didn't see any way to get away when they took you out of here?" He asked, voice still hushed. He saw something in those blue eyes, something different in the way they looked at him before Nightwing looked at the ceiling again. "You saw an opportunity?" He hissed in a whisper. "Why wouldn't you take it?"

"You should get some rest, Blue."

Jaime stared down at the other man that lay beside where he sat. His eyes widened. "Dios mio."

"Don't freak out." Dick reminded with a tired groan.

"You stayed here because of me?" Blue Beetle half shouted. "Are you stupid?"

"What was I supposed to do, Blue?"

Jaime ground his teeth. Nightwing sounded tired and somehow that just made everything worse. "Not getting your arm broken would have been a great start."

Dick smiled at the ceiling. "I'll try to remember that next time."

"Next time." Jaime muttered. "Mierda!"

"You're freaking out."

"Of course I am! You're going to get killed!"

Nightwing was quiet for a few seconds before he rolled his head to the side again and looked up at Jaime. "Since I am going to die," He started, not missing the cringe on the Latin man's cheek. "do I get a last request?"

"Not if it's for me to stop freaking out, you don't."

Dick laughed and when Jaime heard that sharp cough following it he felt cold. What if Nightwing really did die in this place? What if he didn't come back next time they took him away? "What do you want?" His voice was low, his chest tight with the worry that the other would start giving him a list of things to say to his loved ones.

"It's kind of an odd thing to ask." Nightwing hedged, still watching him.

Jaime sighed. "Odd has always kind of been your thing, man."

Dick smiled, quiet for another few seconds before he asked boldly. "I want a kiss."

Blue Beetle actually felt his eyes widen before he laughed nervously. "What?"

"You should make it a good one too, since I'm going to die and it's probably going to be pretty brutal."

Jaime frowned abruptly. "You're trying to guilt me into making out with you?"

"I did stay because of you."

"I didn't ask you to!"

"Is that really going to matter when I'm dead?"

"Did they knock your brain loose?"

"Maybe."

Jaime groaned and shook his head, a small smile in the corner of his mouth. "What do you really want?"

Nightwing shrugged his right shoulder again, that arm bent with the hand over his chest. His left was a broken wing at his side. "You don't have to."

Jaime lifted his brows in surprise. "Seriously?" He was answered with another shrug. "Why would you want me to kiss you?"

"Do I need a reason?" Nightwing asked, sounding tired again. His eyes closed and his head rested back again.

Jaime stared at that bruised cheekbone and broken lip. He sat upright, away from the wall, but found himself still staring at the other man. Suddenly he felt afraid of the silence that built around them, the time that started to move by- inching them closer to the next time the door opened. He moved to sit next to Nightwing and over him, his back to the camera now. He leaned over him, one hand pressing to the hard floor on the other side of the bird's head. When that arm bent he found himself moving closer to that other man's face. That broken lip looked so raw. Would it hurt him?

Nightwing didn't open his eyes or move. What if he had fallen asleep? Did that make it better or worse? Jaime had dated guys before but he had never imagined kissing a teammate, let alone Nightwing. Then again, until today, he had never known those eyes were blue, either.

He lingered that last inch over Nightwing's face. No mask, but still just Nightwing to him. And then he closed his eyes and swallowed the space between them. It was a soft kiss at first, his thoughts still worried about that cut lip, but then Nightwing's mouth opened and he couldn't resist sliding his tongue in to find the other's. The kiss grew, his hand sliding behind Nightwing's neck, finger curling against dark hair to press into skin.

_'Shutting down interfering technology, Jaime Reyes.'_ Scarab's voice rang in his thoughts, surprising Jaime from the kiss. He pulled back those few inches, still holding onto Nightwing beneath him. Brown eyes stared down at blue. Nightwing smiled, lips more swollen now than they had been minutes ago. "I told you, Blue, you're going to be alright."

Jaime heard the color click when it shut off and sat up a little more to see Nightwing's arm between them, a thin piece of metal in his fingers that he had used to pick Jaime's collar and disconnect whatever frequency was blocking the scarab.

An alarm sounded in the hallways outside.

_'It is time to leave, Jaime Reyes.'_ Scarab hissed.

Nightwing's smile twisted suddenly when electricity lashed out through his collar to make his body tense and arch on the ground.

Jaime ground his teeth and the blue and black armor of the Beetle swallowed him. Fingers reached down, hooking into Nightwing's collar and ripping it off.

_'Leave the other.'_ Scarab advised with the sound of foot steps beating down the hallway.

"No." The Beetle replied sharply before picking up Nightwing and folding him over one shoulder.

_'It is a hindrance to take him. He is already damaged.'_ The scarab argued.

Jaime didn't reply this time, his right arm changing into a plasma canon. The guards were still working on the locks when Blue Beetle blew a hole through the outer wall. Wind gushed in and Jaime leaned out. Orange eyes took in the night outside. They were in a building pressed into the side of a mountain over the sea. It wouldn't have been a fun climb down. Luckily, the Blue Beetle didn't need to climb.

When the door was kicked open the prisoners were already gone.

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So that's my very first go at these characters. I'm thinking about doing a second chapter for it. Hope you liked it!


	2. Names

Dick had spent the better part of a month under house arrest at the Wayne mansion with a small fleet of doctors looking in on him. He didn't remember the actual escape from the prison but from what he heard, Blue Beetle had actually carried him back to Gotham.

He was more than happy to be back in Bludhaven in his own apartment. It might not be a mansion or have a staff, or even much in the fridge, but it was his own and it was doctor free.

He couldn't help but think that he should have at least raided the fridge before he left house in Gotham. Bruce had wanted him to stay but if he had it his way, Dick would be stuck playing the sick kid until his arm was out of the cast.

With his good arm, the one not wrapped in layers of plaster from elbow to knuckles, he pulled out a bottle of water. He was in the process of pinning the bottle to his chest between cast and dark blue tank top and trying to unscrew the cap when someone knocked at his door. Dick turned his head to glare with blue eyes at the door, suspecting Alfred or maybe an actual doctor to check on him yet again.

He walked around the kitchen island and to the door. With a lean of his head to the side he looked through the peep hole. He almost dropped the bottle of water. He stood there, straight and staring at the door.

The knock came again, persistent and almost excited this time. Dick thought it was the echo of his heart. He considered not answering. He could, couldn't he? Would it be helpful?

"I know you're there." Jaime called through the door. "I could always just knock the door down.."

Dick frowned and opened the door. He stared back at Jaime. Almost none of the heroes knew his identity let alone had been to his house. Jaime grinned wider when the door opened and Dick couldn't help but feel warm and more than a little happy he'd opened the door.

Jaime's smile was full of pride and mischief. "Dick." He practically exhaled the nickname.

His eyes widened and something in his chest shuddered. He had never planned to tell Jaime his real identity. "How did you.."

Jaime scoffed and walked in. Dick stepped back to let him and then closed the door after. "Your not the only one that can do some detective work." He said proudly.

Dick raised an eyebrow while Jaime seemed to be taking a look around his place with pointed curiosity. "Did someone tell you?"

Jaime tossed him a mock wounded look. "I did get a look at your face." He reminded.

"It was messed up!" Dick protested, a faint bruise still marking his cheek and his lower lip sporting a scab from the healing split.

Jaime shrugged and sat on one of the barstools at the kitchen island. "What can I say, it's a nice face."

Dick laughed then and shrugged in a thank you before walking to the tile square his friend was sitting at. "Do you want something to drink?"

"Sure, Dick." Jaime said, enjoying the name a little too much.

Dick sighed and gave him a sharp look while handing him the water he'd been trying to open. "You could call me Richard or-"

"No." Jaime said firmly, opening the bottle. "I'm going to call you Dick. I think this is fair. I mean, you've always known my identity."

Dick smiled and shrugged. "I guess. But you really can't tell people about it."

Jaime took a drink of the water before holding it out to the other. "You have a lot of secrets."

Dick took the bottle and raised his eyebrow under dark hair, leaning his good side into the counter next to Jaime. "Do I? I thought it was just the identity."

Jaime watched him take a drink. "Well, that and the kiss." He saw the moment Dick stopped drinking but there was another half second before he lowered the bottle and looked up at Jaime.

"I never said that was a secret." Dick said casually and set the water down on the counter, suddenly realizing that Jaime was well within arms reach.

"Really? Then why has everyone been asking me exactly how we got out of there, including Batman." Jaime said, mouth pulling into a smirk when Dick looked at him in surprise. "He said he wanted the whole story. I just figured he wouldn't have asked me if he you had already told him everything."

"Did you..." He started to ask, not sure why he hadn't told Batman himself. He'd thought about it, maybe too much, but when Bruce had asked how they got out he found himself hedging the details.

"No." Jaime assured and then laughed. "If you think I'm going to tell the Bats how I took advantage of his prodigy when he was broken and possibly dying... well, I'm not suicidal."

Dick laughed then and shook his head. "You didn't take advantage of me." He ran his good hand through his hair nervously. "If anyone took advantage.."

Jaime smiled like he had been hoping to hear that. "So it wasn't just to get out of that cell?"

Blue eyes widened for a second before he composed himself again. "It was the best way to get the collar off of you without the camera monitors noticing anything." He assured. "But you are younger than I am and-"

Jaime stood up from the stool he'd been sitting on. "Only by a few years." He protested. "And I graduated-"

"Well, technically you didn't since you were being held prisoner during graduation." Dick pointed out.

"_Technically_ I still graduated I just didn't show up for the ceremony." Jaime countered, taking a step closer.

Dick found himself leaning his back against the high counter and staring up at those brown eyes. When had Jaime grown taller than him?

'_Your pulse is rising, Jaime Reyes.'_ Scarab noted. _'You are not in danger.'_ It assessed. _'The Nightwing is wounded still. You could easily kill him.'_

'We're not killing him.' Jaime said sternly before trying to ignore the Scarab entirely. He'd spent the last few weeks trying to decide how he felt about that kiss and what to do about it. "Was it just to get out of there?" He found himself asking again, his voice a little more raw than he'd expected. He had taken another step closer, his hand touching the counter between Dick's arm an his side. He had wanted to keep this light. He just needed to know.

Dick hesitated. They were standing so close now and he had no room to move back. He shouldn't let this happen. He was the older one. He had to be the reasonable one. "Jaime.." He started, not sure what to say.

Jaime felt his heart sink in his chest but managed to smile, taking a step back and reaching up and back to rub the back of his head. His cheeks colored a little in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, man, that was really uncool of me." He laughed a little and turned away, looking around at the apartment. Should he just leave? He didn't want them to be awkward.

Dick cringed when the other turned away. It wasn't really in his nature to lie so telling the truth came rather easily once he decided to. "If I was going to die, I wanted to get to kiss you first." He admitted. "It was kind of a douche move and I probably could have found another way to undo your collar without kissing you."

'_He admits that he is deceptive.'_ The Scarab said with a hint of anger. Jaime had turned around to look at Dick in surprise. _'Destroy him and we can leave.'_

Dick was still leaning against the counter, those blue eyes looking anywhere but at him. "I shouldn't have talked you into it like that but..." He sighed. "You were finally eighteen and we were actually alone for once." He scrunched his face at his own words. It was a stupid excuse. "I'm willing to admit I might have a somewhat dysfunctional view of good timing.."

Jaime took three steps to close the space he'd made between them, his hand sliding behind Dick's neck to pull his face into his own, their lips pressing together. Dick tensed and for a moment Jaime hesitated, afraid he'd misunderstood again, but then those lips opened and a tongue slid into his mouth to find his. Jaime moaned and pressed his chest against Dick's, one hand going to his side to pull him closer.

'_This is not constructive, Jaime Reyes.'_ Scarab informed him sharply.

His lips might have curled into a snarl if they weren't preoccupied. 'No more talking for the rest of the night. Seriously, if you can, just go to sleep or something.' He ordered but it almost sounded like a plea by the end, his hips grinding into Dick's and forcing a moan from the mouth against his. The sound sent shivers down his spine. His hands moved up from Dick's hip to his side, pulling at him. He wanted him closer, even with him pressed against his body.

Dick winced and let out a hiss when Jaime squeezed his side, reminding recently broken ribs of their fragile state. His lips curled in a growl at his bodies weakness and when Jaime jerked back, ready to pull away, Dick grabbed at him and pulled him forward again, slamming their hips together and making them both gasp.

"I-I'm sorry." Jaime panted, mouth swollen and hovering over Dick's. "Are you alright?"

"Shut up." Dick hissed and pulled his face down again, mashing their mouths together while his hand found the hem of Jaime's shirt and started dragging it up.

His arms came up over his head and so did his shirt. Dick dropped it on the floor and then with that same hand, the one not wrapped in plaster, he pushed Jaime back enough to break their kiss and look at him. Soft brown skin and lean muscles. He had expected him to be beautiful, had always known he was, but still some part of him was rattled when he realized that that body was free of scars. _Supers_.

Jaime reached forward, fingers curling into Dick's shirt to start dragging it up. He shivered when knuckles rolled against his abdomen. His heart shuddered and some part of his mind screamed for him to put a stop to this but with those brown eyes staring back at him, all he could do was lift his arms and duck his head enough for that piece of clothing to be pulled off. Dark hair was in his face when he looked up to see the surprise in those eyes.

Narrow waist and cords of tight muscles under pale skin dressed in an array of scars and bruises. They might both be heros, but they weren't the same. He stood still when Jaime's hands fell to his sides, one hand still holding Dick's shirt. His gaze skimmed over every mark but lingered long on the bruises along his ribs.

Dick lifted a hand, pushing hair back from his face even though it only fell forward again as soon as he let go. He looked away. "You should probably go."

Jaime frowned, his eyes shooting up to the other man's face only to realize those blues were turned away. "Why?" That got him those eyes again, blue staring at him, waiting, expecting him to understand. Oh, he understood, but that didn't mean he was leaving. "I've never been with another guy." He admitted. If he didn't say it now, he might never get to. "Honestly, I was never interested until you."

Dick smiled but it was uncertain. He exhaled a laugh and shook his head, looking away again. "That kiss.." He muttered.

"Your eyes." Jaime corrected, dropping the shirt and taking that step forward to have them centimeters apart. "I saw you for the first time. Not just the hero or the shield you hold, but you." His hand came up, ghosting fingers along those bruised ribs. "I don't know how I never saw you before." He whispered, his mouth close but still not touching and those brown eyes staring into blues. "But I'm not going to look away again."

Dick stared back at him, trying to read a lie in his gaze that just wasn't there. He felt the gravity of Jaime's body close to his and knew it was a matter of heartbeats until he pressed forward and collided with him.

The knock at his door was loud and yet for a half second they didn't notice it. The second roll of knuckles against plywood had Dick muttering a curse and shoving Jaime back, pointing at his shirt on the floor and shooting him a "put that on before I punch you" glare. Dick had very specific glares but more importantly, Jaime didn't miss the little smile at the corner of the other guy's mouth.

He bent down but instead of grabbing his t-shirt, he picked up Dick's tank top instead and pulled it on just before the front door opened. Artemis blinked at Dick's half dressed state but lingered on it only long enough to say "You look like shit." before walking in. She stopped two steps in to life an eyebrow at Jaime before continuing toward the kitchen with her bags of take-out. "When did Blue find out?"

Dick sighed pointed and closed the door. "He's trying out detective work."

Artemis laughed. "Well he's lucky I always buy too much food. Old habit." The last words were quieter, sadder. It had been years but she had never really recovered from losing Wally. She looked up at Jaime and smiled wide. "His name is great isn't it?"

Jaime laughed then and nodded, sitting down on the bar stool to watch her unpack food again. "Yes, it is."

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I'm a tease! Who knew I could even do that? Thanks for the reviews and for trying out the pair! More to come!


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